Florida woman jailed for hurling her 10-month-old son against a wooden fence because he wouldn’t stand up on his own
A Florida woman was arrested after witnesses in Pasco recounted how they saw the 25-yar-old throw her 10-month-old child against a fence outside of a Pinellas Park apartment.
Natalee Sesler was seen abusing her son in a fit of rage in front of Shannon Wixon's 11-year-old daughter, who was playing outside with a friend around 6 pm on Saturday in the 5900 block of 72nd Avenue, Pinellas Park, Florida, Fox News reports.
Wixon, a resident at the apartment, spoke to the outlet. "They came running into the house and they told me, 'There's a lady over here that just threw her baby against the wall,'" she said.
The two girls who were playing outside reportedly saw Sesler chuck the baby at a wooden fence in front of their eyes, before proceeding to throw a metal rake at his head. "I was like, 'Are you being serious?' They said 'yes,' and I jumped up and ran out here," Wixon explained.
According to the young mother, she made it outside in time to witness the rest of the brutal attack unfold.
"I came out and looked behind the fence of apartment one, and that's when I'd seen the lady sitting there and her child was laying over a lawn chair, hanging upside down pretty much, screaming, crying," she said. "She was just sitting there not doing anything."
Sesler tried to escape the scene as Wixon called 911. Before leaving, she blamed the incident on the child.
"She shook the baby and said, 'This is what you get for crying, this is what we get for you crying.' And then she took off walking," Wixon recalled.
Eventually, responding officers caught up with Sesler, who, at the time, was wearing only a shirt and underwear while trying to board a nearby bus.
According to witnesses, the ordeal began after Sesler became angry that her 10-month-old child wouldn't stand up.
"It's sad," Wixon said. "I knew the baby was under 1 year old, just helpless."
Authorities, who found the baby with no pants or diaper on, said Sesker may have been under the influence of drugs during the abuse.
Paramedics rushed the malnourished looking infant to the hospital, where he was treated for bruising and swelling under his eye.
Sesler, who was new to the area, is currently remanded in custody at the Pinellas County Jail on charges of child neglect, aggravated assault, resisting an officer without violence and violation of probation.